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Obama, Cameron weigh Syria chemical weapons response
Obama, Cameron weigh Syria chemical weapons response (AFP) / 25 August 2013 US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed their grave concern on Saturday about the ‘increasing signs’ of a major chemical weapons attack in Syria. A White House statement said the two leaders vowed during a telephone call to “continue to consult closely” regarding the alleged attack near Damascus on Wednesday, as well as potential international responses. But Downing Street went further, noting that Obama and Cameron “are both gravely concerned by… the increasing signs that this was a significant chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian regime against its own people.” “The fact that President Bashar Al Assad has failed to cooperate with the UN suggests that the regime has something to hide,” the British statement said, stressing that “significant use of chemical weapons would merit a serious response from the international community.” Cameron also spoke separately with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Another White House statement regarding Obama’s meeting with top aides in his National Security Council appeared to give credence to reports of the chemical attack on rebel-held areas near the Syrian capital. “In coordination with international partners and mindful of the dozens of contemporaneous witness accounts and record of the symptoms of those killed, the US intelligence community continues to gather facts to ascertain what occurred,” it said. “The president also received a detailed review of a range of potential options he had requested be prepared for the United States and the international community to respond to the use of chemical weapons.” The meeting came a day after US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel said the military had presented options to Obama and was moving forces into place ahead of any possible decision. Obama has so far voiced caution, warning that a hasty military response could have unforeseen consequences, including embroiling the United States in another prolonged Middle East conflict. But he is under mounting pressure to act following reports of the alleged chemical weapons attack, which Doctors Without Borders said had killed 355 people, due to “neurotoxic” symptoms. Opposition groups say the reported attack was carried out by Assad’s forces and that it killed more than 1,000 people. Continue reading
Deadly blasts in Lebanon: 42 killed, over 500 wounded
Deadly blasts in Lebanon: 42 killed, over 500 wounded (Reuters) / 24 August 2013 Twin explosions hit two mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday, killing at least 42 people and wounding hundreds, intensifying the sectarian strife that has spilled over from the civil war in neighbouring Syria. Rescuers carry a body outside one of two mosque hit by explosions in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday. — Reuters The apparently coordinated blasts — the biggest and deadliest in Tripoli since the end of Lebanon’s own civil war — struck as locals were finishing Juma prayers. Lebanese officials appealed for calm. The explosions in Tripoli, 70km from Beirut came a week after a huge car bomb killed at least 24 people in a part of the capital Beirut that is controlled by militant movement Hezbollah. A recent resurgence of sectarian violence in Lebanon has been stoked by the conflagration in Syria, where President Bashar Al Assad is fighting a rebellion. Both Hezbollah and radical groups in Lebanon have sent fighters over the border to support opposing sides in Syria. Medical and security sources said the death toll from Friday’s blasts in Tripoli had risen to 42 by late afternoon. Hundreds more were wounded, they said. Earlier, the Lebanese Red Cross said more than 500 people were wounded. The first explosion hit the Taqwa Mosque and killed at least 14 people there, according to ac-counts earlier in the day. Further deaths were reported from a second blast outside Al Salam Mosque, which the Interior Ministry said was hit by a car laden with 100kg of explosives. A Reuters reporter at the scene said the crater from the blast was about four metres wide and 2.5 metres deep and the floors of the mosque were covered in blood. A 50-metre stretch of the road was charred black and the twisted remains of cars littered the area. “We were just bowing down to pray for the second time and the bomb went off. The air cleared, and I looked around me and saw bodies,” said Samir Jadool, 39. Lebanon’s Red Cross said more than 500 people were wounded in the two explosions. Television footage showed people running through the streets, some of them carrying bloodied victims. Near the Taqwa Mosque blast site, angry men toting AK-47 assault rifles took to the streets and fired in the air while other men threw rocks at Lebanese soldiers nearby. Video obtained by local news channel LBC showed the moment of the explosion at Al Salam mosque. The blast ripped through a wall of the mosque, showering clouds of dust on people sitting on prayer mats and sending dozens running out of the building. Lebanese officials called for calm as tensions rose in Tripoli, a Mediterranean port that has seen some of the worst Syria crossover violence. Former internal security chief Ashraf Rifi, whose home was damaged by the second blast, warned that Lebanon was facing a gathering storm of violence. “We are still in the beginning of the storm and we must remain aware and try to protect this nation,” he said, speaking outside his home. “This storm has become a huge, grave danger.” Witnesses at the scene of the blasts said anger was rising among locals, who were shouting out accusations that Assad’s government or Hezbollah were behind the attack. Hezbollah released a statement condemning the Tripoli blasts and expressing solidarity with the victims, saying they were targets of efforts to fan more violence in Lebanon. “We consider this the completion of an effort to plunge Lebanon into chaos and destruction,” the statement said. People gather outside the mosque on the site of a powerful explosion in Tripoli. — AFP Hezbollah’s political opponents called on the group to withdraw its forces from Syria in response to Friday’s attack. Lebanese Defence Minister Fayez Ghosn warned against being dragged into deeper sectarian bloodshed. “We are calling for calm and vigilance, because the aim of this (blasts) is to stoke strife between sects,” he told LBC. Continue reading
Hot and hazy weather in UAE today
Hot and hazy weather in UAE today (Wam) / 24 August 2013 The weather in the UAE is expected to be hot and hazy today during peak hours, and some clouds may appear across some eastern and mountainous areas by the afternoon, the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) has said. Two playful road workers take a short break from their daily duties at the Al Quoz Industrial area in Dubai and use a large water hose to cool off in an attempt to beat the soaring summer heat. — KT by photo Rahul Gajjar Southeasterly and northeasterly winds may blow at speeds between 16–32km/hour in the morning and at night, becoming north, northwesterly during the afternoon and the evening at a speed reaching 40km/hour over open lands, according to the national forecaster’ statement. Sea conditions will be moderate in general, with waves being between one and two feet onshore and between two and four feet offshore. Continue reading
